The Brownwood Municipal Development District (formerly the Brownwood Economic Development Corporation) has leased 15-acres to T.G. Mercer as a storage facility and distribution point for the 24-inch pipe that will be used in a portion of a 416-mile pipeline. T.G. Mercer is an expert in pipe unloading, pipe handling, and pipeline logistics for the oil and gas pipeline construction industry.

Enterprise Products Partners has executed long-term agreements to develop a new pipeline to transport crude oil and condensate from the company’s Midland, Texas terminal to its Sealy storage facility west of Houston.

The new 416-mile, 24-inch diameter pipeline will link to Enterprise’s ECHO terminal through an interconnect with the Rancho II pipeline.

The ECHO terminal will allow customers to have direct access to every refinery in Houston, Texas City, Beaumont and Port Arthur, as well as Enterprise’s dock facilities.

The new pipeline, expected to be in service in the second quarter of 2017, will have the capacity to provide up to 540,000 barrels per day (BPD) of take-away capacity for growing volumes of crude oil, and condensate from the Permian Basin.

Brownwood will benefit from workers who will use local hotels, restaurants, and other retail services, and from increased fuel services for trucks and equipment being used in the distribution process. BNSF and TXR railroads will also benefit because the pipe is initially shipped to Brownwood and the Industrial Park via rail, then unloaded onto trucks for transport to the storage and distribution site.